BMW Discontinues Production of its First Hybrid Sports Car

The last BMW i8 rolled off the production line at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig on 11 June 2020. After 20,500 vehicles had been built in around six years, an i8 roadster in Portimao blue ended the era of the hybrid sports car.

The BMW i8 started its worldwide success story in 2014 - now "an important era for the plant and the BMW Group" is coming to an end, as the head of the Leipzig plant, Hans-Peter Kemser, mentioned. In front of around 200 employees, the core of the hybrid vehicle production team, plant manager Hans-Peter Kemser underlined the importance of the i8 for the Leipzig plant. With the sports car, the plant had broken new ground in the modern automobile due to the specific vehicle architecture and drive system. In around six years, some 20,500 vehicles rolled off the production line.

The BMW i8 laid the foundation for the Munich manufacturer's now broad range of plug-in hybrid models and, together with the i3, for the first time combined a passenger cell made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic with an aluminum chassis.